Pre-insulated connecting device for a plurality of wires having insulation displacing features

ABSTRACT

Connecting device for electrically connecting two or more insulated wires to each other comprises a tubular terminal member contained in a first insulating housing part. The tubular terminal and the first housing part have registered wirereceiving slots. A second housing part extends co-axially from the first housing part and is telescopically movable into the first housing part. The second housing part has an enlarged wirereceiving recess and a wire aligning slot extending from the recess. When wires are inserted into the recess and the second housing part is telescopically moved into the first housing part, the wires are moved relatively into the aligning slot so that they are stacked in parallel relationship. Upon further movement of the second part, the wires are moved into the slots in the terminal and in the first housing part.

United States Patent [191 Reavis, Jr.

[4 1 July 29, 1975 [75] Inventor: Robert Philmore Reavis, Jr.,

Statesville, NC.

[52] U.S. Cl 339/98; 339/97 R [51] Int. Cl I-I0lr 11/20 [58] Field of Search 339/95 R, 95 A, 96, 97 R,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,377,611 4/1968 Pawl 339/97 3,718,888 2/1973 Pasternak 339/98 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,640,633 10/1969 Germany 339/97 R Primary Examiner-Roy Lake Assistant Examiner-E. F. Desmond Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Frederick W. Raring; Jay L. Seitchik; William J. Keating [57] ABSTRACT Connecting device for electrically connecting two or more insulated wires to each other comprises a tubular terminal member contained in a first insulating housing part. The tubular terminal and the first housing part have registered wire-receiving slots. A second housing part extends co-axially from the first housing part and is telescopically movable into the first housing part. The second housing part has an enlarged wire-receiving recess and a wire aligning slot extending from the recess. When wires are inserted into the recess and the second housing part is telescopically moved into the first housing part, the wires are moved relatively into the aligning slot so that they are stacked in parallel relationship. Upon further movement of the second part, the wires are moved into the slots in the terminal and in the first housing part.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures I PATENTEIJJUL29IH75 SHEET FIG.

PRE-INSULATED CONNECTING DEVICE FOR A PLURALITY OF WIRES-HAVING INSULATION DISPLACING FEATURES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to devices for making butt splice connections among two or more insulated wires. The disclosed embodiment has an open seamed tubular terminal, the open seam serving as a wire receiving and displacing slot as disclosed in application Ser. No. 410,946 filed Oct. 29, 1973. The instant invention is directed to an improved connecting device which has a reduced number of parts, which is relatively compact, and which is capable of electrically connecting three or more wires in a butt connection.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved connecting device for forming butt connections among a plurality of conductors. A further object is to provide a connecting device which is capable of connecting three or more wires. A still further object is to provide a compact and easily manufactured connecting device which can be used to form a common electrical connection among a plurality of wires and which does not require a specialized crimping tool.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment thereof, which is briefly described in the foregoing abstract, which is described in detail below, and which is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention as applied to three wires to electrically connect the ends of the wires in a common electrical connection.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a frontal view of the connecting device with the three parts thereof exploded from each other.

FIG. 4 is a side view with the parts exploded.

FIG. 5 is a frontal view of the connector with the parts assembled to each other and with the ends of wires positioned in the wire-receiving recess in one of the housing parts, this view showing the positions of the parts prior to telescopic movement of the second housing part into the first housing part.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing the second housing part partially moved into the first housing part.

The disclosed embodiment of the invention comprises a connecting device 2 made up of three separate parts, a terminal member 10, a first housing part 12, and a second housing part 14. The terminal member is in the form of a sheet metal tubular member 16 having an axially extending open seam 18 which functions as a wire receiving and insulation displacing slot. The edges of the seam diverge as shown at 22 adjacent to the upper end 20, as viewed in the drawing, to provide guiding surfaces for guiding wires into the slot 18. Advantageously, a plurality of pairs of shear lines 22 extend from the edges of the seam partially around the circumference of the tubular member to punched holes 24 as explained in appreciation Ser. No. 347,956. Shearing the tubular terminal member in this manner provides separate spring systems along the length of the member so that each wire is engaged by portions of the edges of the slot 18 under the influence of a separate spring system as explained in application Ser. No. 347,956. Feet 26 extend from the lower end of the terminal member 10 on opposite sides thereof and are bent inwardly towards each other after the terminal member has been assembled to the first housing part 12 as will be explained below.

The first housing part 12 comprises a hollow plastic tubular member 28 having an open upper end 30 and a lower end which is closed as shown at 32. A first housing slot 34, extends downwardly from convergent edges 36 at the upper end of this housing part, the width of this slot being less than the diameter of the insulation of the wires 4 which are being connected. Slot 34 extends partially downwardly and transverse slots 38 extend from the inner end of slot 34 partially around the circumference of the tubular member. By virtue of the presence of the transverse slots 38, the portions 40 of the first housing part on each side of the slot 34 are permitted to flex outwardly as shown on FIG. 2 and serve as a strain relief means for the wires as will be described below.

The pedestal 42 is integral with, and extends coaxially from, the closed end 32 of housing 12 and has a reduced diameter upper end 44, the diameter of this portion 44 being slightly less than the inside diameter of the tubular terminal member 10. As also shown in FIG. 2, the inside diameter of the upper portion of the housing section 12 is substantially greater than the outside diameter of the terminal member 10 so that the second housing section 14 can be telescopically moved into the first housing section. The lower portion of the pedestal 42 has a transversely extending recess 46 so that after the terminal member 10 has been positioned on the pedestal with the slot 18 in registry with the slot 34 the ears 26 can be bent inwardly and into the recess 46 to lock the terminal in the first housing section. The internal sidewalls of housing section 12 have axially extending grooves 48 which are adapted to receive oppositely directed ribs 52 on the second housing section 14 as will also be described below.

The second housing section 14 is also in the form of a tubular plastic member 50 having a closed upper end as viewed in the drawing and a lower end 56 which is open. The sidewalls extend only partially downwardly towards the lower end to define a wire receiving recess 54, the edges 58 of which extend convergently towards each other and merge with a wire aligning slot 60. Slot 60 should have a width which is slightly greater than the diameter of one of the wires 4 and a length which is equal to the combined diameters of the number of wires (three in the disclosed embodiment) which can be connected in the terminal member 10. The ribs 52 extend in opposite directions and are dimensioned to be slidably received in the previously identified grooves 48. These ribs are located such that the wire aligning slot 60 will be in alignment with the slots 18 and 34 in the terminal 10 and the first housing section 40 respectively.

The separate parts shownin FIGS. 3 and 4 are assembled to each other by fitting the terminal member 10 on the reduced upper end 44 of the pedestal 42 and bending the legs 26 into the recess 46 in the pedestal. This can be done by inserting a tweezer type bending tool through the grooves 48 from the closed end 32 of the housing part 12. The second housing part 14 is fitted into the upper open end 30 of the first housing part as shown in FIG. 5. After partial insertion of the second part, the device can be applied to the wires by inserting the ends of the wires into the recess 54 and then telescopically moving the second part into the first housing part. During initial movement, the wires will be guided into the wire aligning slot 60 by the convergent edges 58 and the edges 36 of the first housing part until the three wires are side-by-side in the slot 60 as shown in FIG. 6. The second housing part is then moved completely into the first housing part and the wires are moved relatively into the slot 18 and 34; The edges of the slots 18 penetrate the insulation 6 of the wires and displace the insulation away from the conducting cores 8 thereof so that the edges establish electrical contact with the cores. As mentioned above, the shear lines 22 divide the terminal member into three sections so that the edge portions of the slot 18 are maintained resiliently against the conducting cores of the wires under the influence of three spring systems, one for each wire. The movement of the wires into the slot 34 causes the portions 40 of the housing section 12 to be flexed outwardly. These sections tend to return to their normal positions after the wires come to rest and bear against the insulation on the wires thereby providing a strain relief which reduces the transmission of tensile forces from the wires to the zones of electrical contact between the conducting cores of the wires and the edges of the slot 18.

It will be apparent that the disclosed embodiment is capable of being produced in an extremely compact form since the wires are disposed against each other and the overall length of the connector as shown in FIG. 1 need be only about twice the combined diameters of the wires. A further significant advantage is that three or more wires can be connected in a tubular butt splice device, and the terminal member can be made larger than that shown to accommodate a number of wires greater than 3.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only.

What is claimed is:

l. A connecting device for electrically connecting at least two insulated wires to each other, said connecting device comprising:

a formed tubular metallic terminal member having an axially extending open seam, said seam constituting a wire-receiving and insulation displacing slot extending therein from one end thereof,

a two-part insulating housing comprising a first generally tubular housing part having an open end, said tubular terminal member being concentrically contained in said first housing part with said one end of said terminal member proximate to said open end, said first housing part having a first housing slot extending therein from said open end, said first housing slot being in registry with said wirereceiving slot,

said housing comprising a second generally tubular housing part having an open end which extends into, and is telescopically slidable into, said open end of said first housing part, said second housing part having a wire receiving recess proximate to its open end and having a wire aligning slot extending axially from said recess, said wire aligning slot being in axial alignment with said wire receiving slot and said first housing slot and having a width which is substantially equal to the diameter of one of said wires and a length which is at least equal to the combined diameters of said wires whereby, upon locating the ends of said wires in said recess and telescopically moving said second housing part into said first housing part, said wires move relatively into said wire aligning slot and upon further movement of said second housing part into said first housing part, said wires will be moved into said wire receiving slot and into said first housing slot whereby the edges of said wire receiving slot penetrate the insulation of said wires and establish electrical contact with the cores thereof.

2. A connecting device as set forth in claim 1, said recess having edges which converge towards each other and merge with the edges of said wire aligning slot, said edges serving to guide said wires into said wire aligning slot during initial movement of said second part into said first part.

3. A connecting device as set forth in claim 2, said terminal member being sheared along at least one pair of aligned shear lines which extend from said open seam partially around the circumference of said member, said shear lines dividing said member into two separate spring systems whereby, each of two wires in said device is engaged by edge portions of said wire receiving slot under the influence of an independent spring system.

4. A connecting device as set forth in claim 2, said terminal member being sheared along a plurality of pairs of associated shear lines, each pair of shear lines comprising aligned shear lines extending from said seam partially around the circumference of said member, said shear lines dividing said tubular member into a plurality of spring systems whereby each of a plurality of wires in said device is engaged by edge portions of said wire receiving slot under the influence of an independent spring system.

5. A connecting device as set forth in claim 2, said first housing slot having a width which is less than the diameter of one of said wires, said first housing part having a pair of transversely extending slots which extend from the edges of said first housing slot partially around the circumference of said first housing part whereby portions of said first part which lie between said slots and said open end serve as strain-relief flap members, and said flap members are flexed outwardly upon movement of said wires into said first housing slot, and said flap members resiliently bear against said wires and provide a strain relief for said wire.

6. A connecting device for electrically connecting the ends of three wires to each other, said connecting device comprising:

a formed tubular metallic terminal member having an axially extending open seam, said seam constituting a wire receiving and insulation displacing slot extending therein from one end thereof,

an insulating housing, said housing comprising first and second tubular housing parts, said first housing part surrounding said terminal member and having an open end, said one end of said terminal being proximate to said open end of said first housing part, said first housing part having a first housing slot extending inwardly therein from said open end, said first housing slot being in alignment with said wire-receiving slot,

said second housing part being co-axially disposed with respect to said first housing part and having an upon locating the ends of said wires in said wire receiving recess and telescopically moving said second part into said first part, said wires are guided by said edges into said wire aligning slot and subsequently, said wires are moved relatively into said wire receiving slot and said first housing slot whereby the edges of said wire re ceiving slot penetrate the insulation of said wires and establish electrical contact with the conducting cores thereof. 

1. A connecting device for electrically connecting at least two insulated wires to each other, said connecting device comprising: a formed tubular metallic terminal member having an axially extending open seam, said seam constituting a wire-receiving and insulation displacing slot extending therein from one end thereof, a two-part insulating housing comprising a first generally tubular housing part having an open end, said tubular terminal member being concentrically contained in said first housing part with said one end of said terminal member proximate to said open end, said first housing part having a first housing slot extending therein from said open end, said first housing slot being in registry with said wire-receiving slot, said housing comprising a second generally tubular housing part having an open end which extends into, and is telescopically slidable into, said open end of said first housing part, said second housing part having a wire receiving recess proximate to its open end and having a wire aligning slot extending axially from said recess, said wire aligning slot being in axial alignment with said wire receiving slot and said first housing slot and having a width which is substantially equal to the diameter of one of said wires and a length which is at least equal to the combined diameters of said wires whereby, upon locating the ends of said wires in said recess and telescopically moving said second housing part into said first housing part, said wires move relatively into said wire aligning slot and upon further movement of said second housing part into said first housing part, said wires will be moved into said wire receivinG slot and into said first housing slot whereby the edges of said wire receiving slot penetrate the insulation of said wires and establish electrical contact with the cores thereof.
 2. A connecting device as set forth in claim 1, said recess having edges which converge towards each other and merge with the edges of said wire aligning slot, said edges serving to guide said wires into said wire aligning slot during initial movement of said second part into said first part.
 3. A connecting device as set forth in claim 2, said terminal member being sheared along at least one pair of aligned shear lines which extend from said open seam partially around the circumference of said member, said shear lines dividing said member into two separate spring systems whereby, each of two wires in said device is engaged by edge portions of said wire receiving slot under the influence of an independent spring system.
 4. A connecting device as set forth in claim 2, said terminal member being sheared along a plurality of pairs of associated shear lines, each pair of shear lines comprising aligned shear lines extending from said seam partially around the circumference of said member, said shear lines dividing said tubular member into a plurality of spring systems whereby each of a plurality of wires in said device is engaged by edge portions of said wire receiving slot under the influence of an independent spring system.
 5. A connecting device as set forth in claim 2, said first housing slot having a width which is less than the diameter of one of said wires, said first housing part having a pair of transversely extending slots which extend from the edges of said first housing slot partially around the circumference of said first housing part whereby portions of said first part which lie between said slots and said open end serve as strain-relief flap members, and said flap members are flexed outwardly upon movement of said wires into said first housing slot, and said flap members resiliently bear against said wires and provide a strain relief for said wire.
 6. A connecting device for electrically connecting the ends of three wires to each other, said connecting device comprising: a formed tubular metallic terminal member having an axially extending open seam, said seam constituting a wire receiving and insulation displacing slot extending therein from one end thereof, an insulating housing, said housing comprising first and second tubular housing parts, said first housing part surrounding said terminal member and having an open end, said one end of said terminal being proximate to said open end of said first housing part, said first housing part having a first housing slot extending inwardly therein from said open end, said first housing slot being in alignment with said wire-receiving slot, said second housing part being co-axially disposed with respect to said first housing part and having an open end, said open end of said second housing part being contained in said open end of said first housing part, said second part extending from, and being telescopically movable into, said first housing part, said second housing part having a wire receiving recess adjoining said open end and having a wire aligning slot extending from said recess, said wire aligning slot being aligned with said wire receiving slot and said first housing slot, said recess having convergent edges extending towards said wire aligning slot whereby, upon locating the ends of said wires in said wire receiving recess and telescopically moving said second part into said first part, said wires are guided by said edges into said wire aligning slot and subsequently, said wires are moved relatively into said wire receiving slot and said first housing slot whereby the edges of said wire receiving slot penetrate the insulation of said wires and establish electrical contact with the conducting cores thereof. 